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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29355741">Not Like The Others</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/F00T/pseuds/F00T'>F00T</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Takeover are Completely Removed from Kayfabe (but Still #Soulmates) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Professional Wrestling, 新日本プロレス | New Japan Pro-Wrestling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Boundaries, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Relationship Negotiation, Scenting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:41:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,848</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29355741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/F00T/pseuds/F00T</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Katsuyori Shibata invites his omega workout partner over to hang out, tries to be respectful and accommodating, and fails miserably.</p>
<p>Omegaverse AU where they're just regular meathead gym bros (and not pro wrestlers)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hideo Itami | KENTA/Shibata Katsuyori</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Takeover are Completely Removed from Kayfabe (but Still #Soulmates) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156325</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Not Like The Others</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Hey, do you have a blanket or something?” Kenta said as he gave Shibata’s knee a little shove. “It’s chilly in here. Haven’t you turned your heat on yet?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He swatted Kenta’s hand away and rose from the couch. “It’s barely even fall, it’s too early to turn the heat on,” Shibata yelled from the connected room as he rustled through the blankets piled messily at the foot of his bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All his senses were telling him that he should be annoyed at the bad-mannered omega ordering him around his own apartment as if he owned the place, but he wasn’t sure if he actually minded all that much. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had an omega over, but he could never forget the smell of it; that sharp, acidic scent of omega fear had permeated his apartment for days afterwards even though the visit had been short and strictly casual. But he could pick up none of that from Kenta right then. He had expected to smell at least some anxiety on him, no matter how much he covered it up with tough talk and assertive body language, but all Shibata had noticed was Kenta’s normal resting musk, honey-sweet and tinged with vanilla, wafting from the sitting room. Had he practiced his cocky swagger in the presence of unmated alphas so much that he had managed to override his own involuntary reaction to being in one of their dens? Or was this powerful level of calm in the face of what should be utterly terrifying for Kenta exclusive to his company? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Either way, he found it powerfully enticing. Irresistible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced back at Kenta lounging on his couch. His head tipped to one side, just slightly, as he watched the TV and Shibata could feel himself salivating at the sight of his neck relaxing just enough to draw attention to how it gently curved into his muscular shoulder. He knew Kenta wasn’t doing it intentionally but he wanted to believe it was. He wanted to feel Kenta in his arms, squirming in fake protest and daring him to pull him closer, tighter. He wanted to taste the soft skin at the base of his neck between his teeth and let his pheromones blend with his own, marking Kenta Kobayashi for all the world as the soulmate of Katsuyori Shibata. As his partner. His other half. His mate. His to protect and cherish and look after to the best of his ability. His. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shibata grabbed a mahogany plush throw from the foot of his bed, stroking his hands over the soft fabric. Kenta always looked good in browns, he thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, if you don’t have a spare blanket or whatever, it’s fine!” Kenta called, not turning to look back at him as he gathered the oversized throw in his arms. “If you have a sweatshirt or something I can borrow, that’s-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This should be okay, yeah?” Shibata circled around the couch and tossed the blanket around Kenta’s shoulders. “Hold still.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The faintest tart aroma danced in his nostrils as he wrapped the blanket snug around Kenta. Fuck. He met Kenta’s glare. Fuck fuck fuck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kenta said, rustling against the thick fabric cocooning him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hush,” Shibata growled. “You said you were cold. I’m helping.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scent of Kenta’s fear and rage quickly grew overwhelming. “How is this helping?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanted a blanket. I’m only doing what you asked.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t ask you to tie me up in it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then you should have specified!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I shouldn’t have to specify that I don’t want to be wrapped up and immobilized in a fucking alpha den!” Kenta snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, excuse me for wanting to do something nice for you,” Shibata furrowed his brow. “I don't want to be like all those other alphas at the gym, leering at you like prey all the time. I just wanted you to be comfortable here. Shouldn’t I get some credit for that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some credit? How is this any different from those other alphas?” he spat the last word. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s different because at least I’m trying to make an effort here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’re not doing a very good job,” Kenta grumbled as he pulled his legs up onto the couch and turned away, wiggling petulantly underneath the layers of fleece. “Even if you mean well, it’s still fucking patronizing, you bundling me up like this. Especially since you mean well. You don’t understand me at all, you fucking knothead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shibata seethed at the sound of that insult on Kenta’s lips. “Well,” he growled, “If you’re so fucking mad about being wrapped up in that blanket, why the fuck are you still in there? I don’t believe for a second that you couldn’t get out of there if you wanted to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenta didn’t turn to look at him. His shoulders heaved under fabric as the scent of his frustration permeated the small room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m waiting,” he continued. “I know you can unwrap yourself whenever you want. I’ve seen what you’re lifting now. I know exactly how much stronger you’ve gotten since you started working out with me. Do not tell me you’re not stronger than a piece of fabric.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It smells really good, okay! It smells like you, asshole, and that shouldn’t be nice but it is,” Kenta shouted. “Fuck you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shibata sighed and collapsed onto the couch, inches away from the soft ball of blanket and Kenta but doing his best not to touch him. He waited in silence, breathing long and slow until Kenta’s rage pheromones no longer burned in his nose. It didn’t take long before his scent grew calm. He glanced over at his friend, his form buried underneath brown fluff. Kenta had pulled a fold of fabric up over his head as he snuggled deeper into the throw in his frustration. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shibata gulped. He’d seen Kenta angry plenty of times before but he couldn’t recall an instance where his temper had made him want him like this. His instincts flared as every cell in his body told him to pull Kenta in close and soothe him. He looked utterly adorable in the blanket and he wanted to tell him so, to tell him how much he desired him, craved him, his cute little omega, bundled tightly in plush fabric specifically because it smelled like him. And he abstained, willing himself not to touch him, because he knew telling Kenta everything he was thinking right then would piss him off even more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me what I can do for you then,” he mumbled. “To make you feel comfortable, I mean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a long pause before Kenta spoke. “Just...just don’t make me feel small,” he said, his voice muffled by the blanket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Small?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know. Precious. Coddled. Like you’d treat a child. Or an omega.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But if I...well, if I care about you and want to protect you, then-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenta cut him off. “I don’t want you to protect me! That’s why I asked you to train with me in the first place, so I could protect myself. Why can’t you just treat me like just another member of your pack? You don’t want to protect Nakamura or Tanahashi, do you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I protect them differently than I want to with you, Kenta. I can protect them by fighting alongside them, if the situation calls for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then why can’t you do the same for me?” he hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because you’re not...fuck,” Shibata said, before looking down at his feet. “You know why I can’t treat you the same as them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t or won’t?” Kenta’s voice grew sharp. “You keep telling me at the gym that I’m the toughest omega you’ve ever known. I just want to feel like you believe it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shibata sighed. “Fine. You’re right. I’m treating you differently because you’re an omega. But don’t think for a second that I don’t think you’re tough. You’re stronger inside than anyone I know, omega or alpha. You’re assertive and powerful and you actually agreed to come visit me without fear and I can’t help but admire that about you, Kenta. And that’s why I want to protect you and not the other alphas in my pack. Because that’s the only way I can think of to support your strength, Kenta, and hearing that it makes you feel the opposite is, well…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe just ask permission first,” Kenta said quietly. “You know. Before you do any protecting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shibata felt a soft weight against his shoulder. He didn’t need to look over to know that it was Kenta, still wrapped in the blanket, leaning up on him. It was a small gesture, but it felt immensely meaningful, a solid sign that Kenta didn’t view him as just another alpha looking to force their will upon him. He wanted to be everything he could for Kenta but this he took as evidence that Kenta believed that he was willing to do so on an omega’s terms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Permission, huh,” Shibata said, a small smile crossing his lips. “Would you give me permission to hold you, then? Not tightly, I mean. Just a little bit, if that’s what you want. I’d like that very much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ball of blanket shifted slightly. “Okay,” he muttered. “I guess that’s fine. Besides, you...well, you don’t smell like a threat any more.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did I?” he wrapped his arms around the blanket and slid in close, trying his best to take in Kenta’s warmth without overwhelming him. “I didn’t realize. I’m sorry if I frightened you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t scare me, dumbass. You’ve just never had that scent around me before. I’m used to it from other alphas, though. I know what it means.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to be like other alphas around you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenta sighed and snuggled into Shibata’s arms. “You’re...you’re not like other alphas. They would have never even tried to listen to me in the first place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shibata nuzzled against what felt like the back of Kenta’s neck until the fold of fabric over his head slipped down. Not feeling any resistance, he pressed in against Kenta, nosing against the nape of his neck and savoring how warm and sweet he smelled in his arms. But the odor seemed different than it had earlier, more musty, with notes of peat and clove, that he could only imagine were his own intermingling with Kenta’s inside the layers of blanket. It was intoxicating to him, to be overwhelmed with this blend of his and Kenta’s pheromones as the omega grew heavy and calm against his chest. He let his head droop forward, resting his mouth against the soft skin of Kenta’s neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get carried away,” Kenta said, pulling away slightly. “Can we just keep things like this for now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, no teeth then,” Shibata said, pressing his lips against Kenta’s shoulder until he could hear him let out a soft whine. “Not until you say. But know that I’ll mark you the very moment you ask for it. But not until then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll hold you to that, alpha.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This started out as a middle chapter of an intended longer story that I wanted to tackle mostly because I'm really interested in alpha/omega biology and social roles but some of the most common omegaverse fic tropes (namely noncon and pregnancy/childbirth) are huge squicks for me. I wanted an omegaverse story that pandered to my extremely specific interests and things like that mean I have to do it myself, haha.</p>
<p>And then a year passed and I never did anything with the larger fic 'verse this was based in. And now the prospective story idea has evolved to the point where this scene isn't all that relevant to the plot.</p>
<p>But I still really like it so I guess it can be a standalone thing now.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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